吉安村何时有疫病啊
“When was there a plague in Ji'an Village?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
掩盖真相
“to cover up the truth.”
吉安村何时有疫病啊
“When was there a plague in Ji'an Village?”
你们可知此事
“Did any of you know about this?”
“Don't try to hide this from me; explain right now when this outbreak started.”
In imperial China, local officials faced severe punishment if they concealed epidemics or famines from higher authorities.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
when / what time
A formal, classical interrogative equivalent to the spoken '什么时候', common in period dramas and high-register writing.
epidemic / plague
A classical or formal medical noun used to describe widespread contagious diseases.
Softens the interrogative slightly while emphasizing the pressing nature of the question.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“A sudden plague broke out in Ji'an Village.”
“concealed the plague outbreak in Ji'an Village two years ago.”
“to cover up the truth about the plague in Ji'an Village.”
“really did visit Ji'an Village. After confirming the villagers had contracted an epidemic,”
“Did he drink water from Ji'an Village's well?”
“(Triple Burner Imbalance) A traveling physician who treated the villagers of Ji'an Village for free”